Hypothetical question...Has anyone used large diameter hazel for anything?

There's a couple of tall (15m) hazel trees in the middle of a new community coppice nearby and the trunk is about 35-40cm in diameter. It seems likely that these will be cut down to provide light and new hazel stools in the coppice. The trunks are relatively unbranched and the bark is sound.

As I May have a chance of getting dibs on some, I don't want to see the timber going to waste.

So...is the timber good for sectioning i.e. planks or is it best cut into billets for bowls/turning?

I'd try splitting it for fencing/garden arch/gate-hurdles. But it should be said, I made my first gate hurdle out of silver birch .

Bows? I made my son a bow out of hazel about half that diameter - I think larger diameter would be better though, and could yield more bows.

Might it be good for carving, like fruit woods? I might have a go at carving a bowl from it - at this stage, I'll try pretty much any wood once - although I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work out (it seems quite fibrous). I haven't had a piece big enough/clean enough to tempt me so far though - the biggest I've had so far was probably 6"-8" diameter. Coincidentally I came across a huge hazel while walking in the snow this lunch time, while ooking for a hazel crook to use with my reap hook. I hadn't noticed it before because the bottom is covered in ivy - which might explain why it has not been "coppiced" for bean poles & beating/walking sticks by the locals, like the other hazels in the area.

I love large diameter hazel, fantastic wood to use. I would make my shrink pots and turned bowls from it. I think it is a fantastic turning wood and have made various lidded pots out of it. I also like its smell especially if it has been cut for some time.

"Scarcely anything is original- it`s very hard to be totally inventive, so I am not terribly interested in originality. Vitality is all I care about" Clive JamesGreen wood courses, tools, demonstrations.http://www.seanhellman.com/woodwork/

I love large diameter hazel, fantastic wood to use. I would make my shrink pots and turned bowls from it. I think it is a fantastic turning wood and have made various lidded pots out of it. I also like its smell especially if it has been cut for some time.